The reason for Scottish Cup final kick-off change as Celtic slam SFA decision

By Hamish Carton

May 3, 2023

Celtic have slammed the decision to move our Scottish Cup final against Inverness Caledonian Thistle till later in the day.

Ange Postecoglou‘s side will bid to win the tournament for the first time since 2020 on Saturday 3 June.

The game was widely expected to kick-off at the traditional time of 3pm. However, it will now get underway at 5:30pm, as was announced by the SFA on Wednesday evening.

Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images

In a statement, they wrote: “The Scottish FA can confirm that the 2022/23 Men’s Scottish Cup Final will take place between Celtic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Hampden Park on Saturday, June 3, with a 5.30pm kick-off.

“We would like to thank all parties for their support in ensuring a slot commensurate with Scottish football’s showpiece occasion. The match will be broadcast live on BBC One Scotland and on Viaplay.”

Almost immediately, Celtic had their own statement out on the official website.

It read: “We are hugely disappointed that the Scottish Cup Final has been moved from its traditional 3pm slot, something we don’t believe was necessary, or in the best interests of both sets of supporters.

“Additionally, there was no meaningful consultation with Celtic on this matter, in terms of assessing the many issues affecting supporters attending the match – something which is also extremely regrettable.”

So Celtic aren’t happy. They feel that the change to an evening kick-off wasn’t necessary.

The reason for the deviation from tradition was reported by the Scottish Sun yesterday morning.

At the time they revealed that it was broadcasters Viaplay and the BBC who were keen on a change in kick-off time, in order to avoid a clash with the FA Cup final.

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Manchester City are due to face Manchester United on the same afternoon, with that game nailed-on for a 3pm start.

Viaplay in particular were said to be keen on moving the Scottish showpiece clash, something which Celtic seem to feel wasn’t at all necessary.

Our stance on the issue is that the game should always kick-off at 3pm. However, a 5:30pm start is preferential to one at lunchtime.

In other news, Shaun Rooney has been added as a guest for Scott Brown and Mikael Lustig’s big Hydro night

Hamish Carton
Hamish Carton is a sports media professional with more than eight years of experience in the industry. Previously a football reporter for the Press Association, Hamish joined 67 Hail Hail to cover his beloved Celtic FC, the team he has supported all of his life. He is the face of the website’s YouTube channel and is responsible for planning, presenting and editing videos on the channel. He writes occasionally on the website and, just like Patrick, he is so in love with Ange Postecoglou that he's even written a book about his journey at Celtic.

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